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LOT 2123
Post Byzantine Adoration of the Magi Shell Plaque
17TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.
2 5/8 in. (30.2 grams, 68 mm).
Octagonal in plan with carved scene of the Adoration of the Magi with star above; stepped border, pierced for attachment.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Cf. for similar plaques the ones adorning the covers of the Gospels in Popescu, G.A., Cristiani d'Oriente, spiritualità, arte e potere nell'Europa Post-Bizantina, Milano, 1999, fig.3.
FootnotesThe flat relief and the stylistic refinement of the images place the execution of the plaque towards the end of the 17th century, with some artistic parallels with the Romanian silversmiths of Chiprovatzi.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 2123
Post Byzantine Adoration of the Magi Shell Plaque
Estimate £150 - 200€170 - 230 (for guidance only)$200 - 270 (for guidance only)
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Large Post-Classical Agate Gemstone Depicting a Double Portrait of Hellenistic Rulers
19th century A.D. or earlierEstimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Intaglio jugate busts of a bearded male with browband in the foreground and female bust to the rear with diadem; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 7.37 grams, 31 mm
with Hotel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, 2022. Private collection, England.
The image portrays human rulers as Zeus and Hera/Jupiter and Juno. -
Marble Head of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,460
Modelled in the round as a bust of a youthful female, possibly Aphrodite with her hair bound by a narrow filet tied at the nape of the neck and the tails retained by a flat ribbon at the rear; the face perhaps modelled on the statue 'Aphrodite of Knidos' by Praxiteles; socket to crown of the head for attachment of a nimbus (now absent); mounted on a socle base. 12.6 kg, 40.5 cm
Acquired on the Los Angeles art market. Private collection, England. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13095-249678.
This magnificent head of a woman with an elaborate hairstyle is in perfect harmony with the artistic works of several neo-classical sculptors of 18th century, yet subtly different from it in stylistic terms, like Giovanni Marchiori, and to the so-called stone Venus or Flora in the Museo Civico di Treviso. -
Post Medieval Bronze 'LOVE LOVE' Posy Ring
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
D-shaped in section with capital inscription to inner face "LOVE L LOVE". 1.18 grams, 21.22 mm overall, 18.53 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)
Found Suffolk, UK. Property of a Suffolk, UK, gentleman.
